Deep Forest
by Hollywoodx4
Summary: There are some cats that are bound for forest life, even if they're not of pure Warrior blood. Follow 5 rouge kittens on a journey to the 4 forest clans...even if they don't know they're going in the first place. CHAPTER 3 UP! Author's note removed,
1. Chapter 1

Hutch padded along the narrow, winding river in search of food. The woods were quiet, and only the sounds of his pawsteps could be heard over the babbling of the brook. Earth crunched beneath his paws, and hurt his pads as he tried to step over the larger rocks that blocked his way. Very little prey could be heard both up and down the river. Hutch stopped when he heard a small mouse nibbling a nut beside a bramble bush. With the little hunting skills he had, he dropped into a hunters crouch and began to stalk his prey. His paws light on the ground, Hutch was certain this one would become a meal. Closer and closer, Hutch went pawstep after pawstep, afraid even the slightest noise would alarm the grey mouse. When he was close enough, he sprang, his teeth enclosing around the petrified mouse. With a swift bite, the mouse was dead.

With the mouse between his jaws, Hutch continued through the forest, stopping every so often to scent the air. Cautiously, he padded along the forest floor, picking up dirt with his swollen pads. He came to a hollow tree and stopped.

"I'm back!" He called, and out raced two other kits, his sisters, Mouse and Fawn. Their mother had abandoned Hutch and his sisters, Mouse, Berry, and Fawn, and his brother, Talon, when they were just babies. The kin had grown together, and somehow managed in their tree in the deep forest.

"Talon and Berry went out to check the area around us." Fawn meowed, taking in her brother's scent. "How was the hunt?"

"Good enough to feed some, but not all of us. I'm going back out."

Fawn shared a scared glance with Mouse, and Mouse stepping forward, a pleading look in her eyes. "Don't leave us here, we're scared. Take us with you, Hutch! We want to learn how to hunt so we can help take care of ourselves." Fawn meowed in agreement, but Hutch wouldn't budge.

"It's too dangerous out there. What if foxes come?"

"You can help us defend ourselves. And, besides, I need more Stinging nettle for your pads. You sit down….now. I'll go see if I can find anymore." With that, Fawn padded away from the tree, heading into the forest. Weaving through other plants, she finally came to the stinging nettle. Her paws worked furiously as she tried to dig up the plant. She felt a feeling she wasn't alone, digging up herbs. She could feel a pair of bloodthirsty eyes staring at her. This only made her claws dig deeper, scraping up mounds of dirt and twigs behind her. The eyes were still staring, Fawn was sure of it. Taking the Stinging nettle in her jaws, she ran back to the tree, paws thumping against hard earth and mossy undergrowth. She weaved in-between trees and hurled herself over rocks, making sure not to drop anything. Panting, she threw herself on the ground near the oak, where Mouse and Hutch were practicing their fighting skills.

Mouse was squatting on the ground, facing Hutch. He too was squatting, but his haunches were high in the air. The light of battle was in his eyes, along with playfulness. Mouse sprang, but Hutch was too quick. He rolled out of the way before Mouse even came a mouse-length away from him. He purred in delight as Mouse heaved herself up from the ground and shook her pelt off, flinging moss and twigs all over the place.

"That was a good try, but I could see it coming. Let me show you how exactly to do that move… I think those forest rouges back home called it the leap and hold." Hutch, being the oldest of his kin, was 3 moons when their mother left them, and he luckily still remembered some of what it had been like before. Fawn was born with him, and Talon, Berry, and Mouse had been born later on, just kitted when she had left. Hutch got back into position and signaled Mouse to do the same. This time, though, she was quick. As soon as Hutch got into position, she leapt from the ground, landing on his back. She gripped on with sheathed claws, not wanting to let go. Her brother was stronger, though, and he shook her off of his back and pinned her to the ground.

"I'm horrible!!" Mouse whined, struggling under her brother's weight.

"No you're not, you just need time. It took me a long time, too. You'll get it." He got off of Mouse, giving her time to catch her breath again. "Get inside…you look tired. I'm going to find Berry and Talon. It looks like it's going to rain soon."

"Alright, but hurry back! You don't want to get caught in the storm." Berry padded away, crawling through the tunnels that lead to their makeshift den in an old oak tree. She soon turned back, remembering something she had to say. "Hutch!" She cried after her brother, who was already half way up the path. He turned, looking back at Mouse with questioning eyes.

"Yes, Mouse?"

"Be careful out there."


	2. Chapter 2

Hutch carefully stepped along near the rushing river, knowing his kin had come this way

Hutch carefully stepped along near the rushing river, knowing his kin had come this way. He had picked up their scent trail at the tree, and he was trying his hardest to follow it. The starting winds of a storm were ruffling his fur, cooling him down from the intense heats of Greenleaf. He could hear a crow flying above him, but paid no attention to it as his kin's smell became stronger. He kept pursuing it, knowing the storm was coming soon. He lifted his head to the sky to see black clouds rolling in front of the setting sun.

He walked quicker, knowing it would not be long before the rain begun. He could smell it in the air, and feel the winds chill against his body, making him long for his soft nest in the tree, next to Berry. He longed to be there…to protect his kin and make them feel safe.

'_But what can I do now?_' he thought, anger fusing through his pelt '_Go running off to find Fawn and Talon when Fawn was supposed to be back by sun high?_' This made him break into a run, skirting the trees, and just missing a branch as it came a few lengths away from his head. He slowed down to a trot and watched the scenery change. He could feel something….but he didn't know exactly what. Some kind of power he couldn't explain. It felt like he was being watched.

"_No," _He began, stopping to cure his whirling mind. "_Not in this forest…not in our home. We've worked so hard to get here! Do you realize how many nursing she-cats I've had to ask for one drink of milk for my kin? Do you realize how much every piece of fresh kill, every bit of clean moss, every _day _means to us? We have to survive…I thought it was safe. This is entirely and completely my fault. If I hadn't brought them here in the first place, I would've never felt this feeling." _ Then, he took a deep breath, trying to contain himself. _"Nothing's going to happen…you're over-reacting. This could just be a common misunderstanding!" _ However, even his words of encouragement could not shake off the feeling of dread he had going through his mind.

He stopped when he heard something in the bushes. Cautiously, he went to investigate, slowly working his way to the bush. He could smell a small hint of something unknown, which was drawing him closer to the bush. He thought he could detect a smell of fox, but he ignored it, hoping it was nothing to dangerous. When he reached the prickly, berry-topped bush, he stopped. Coming a tiny bit closer, his nose just barely touching one of the leaves, he sniffed the bush. He could smell a very stale scent of cat, an old scent of mouse, and…

Fox…..He smelt fox. It was an unmistakable scent, one that smelt worse than mouse bile and the scent of badger combined. Although he was young when he first smelt it, he knew how deadly the occupant of the smell could be. He stepped closer, pink nose now touching the leaf. He could now smell it was not one, but two foxes. One strong, healthy male, and another female. He sighed…the female smelt of milk, too. He stepped away from the bush, ignoring the fresh scents on it.

"_As long as I stay away, it will leave me alone…right?" _He questioned himself, now starting to let his worry get the worst of him. However, he couldn't help but remember that awful smell.

Raindrops started to fall, hitting Hutch like the claws of a cat. Guilt clawed at him as he remembered Fawn and Talon. He stood, debating on whether or not he should go and find them. _"After all,"_ he thought _"Fawn is in charge…she can find her way back." _A bloodcurdling yowl made him stop dead in his tracks. In the distance, he could hear a voice…no, two voices. Both were screaming in terror. "_Fawn!_" He started to race toward the noise. To his only friends, to his only remaining kin.


	3. Chapter 3

Fawn stepped over brambles and thicket as she sniffed around for more herbs. It was almost sundown, and she only needed one more herb before she could go back to camp. Talon followed, his heavy pawsteps becoming a nuisence to hear. She turned to him, trying to speak through her mouthful of herbs.

"Would you try to be a little quieter? You'll wake the whole forest with that stomping of yours!" Fawn gave her brother a look, and flicked her tail over his back, giving a light chuckle. "Remind me to ask Hutch to teach you how to stalk again, will you?"

Talon just ignored his sister, and followed her along through the woods, listning for more prey. He had already caught a mouse, but he and Fawn ate it, having been out since sunhigh. His sister insisted they save it, but once she heard Talon's stomach growl, she just had to give in.

Fawn's tail began to drag as she and Talon reached another brook. Both had never been farther than that, having seen a fox on the other side a few moons earlier.

Fawn began to make her way to the edge of the brook. She put one paw in the water, bracing herself for its coldness. She felt the water encircle her paw, and she watched a silver fish dart past her, swimming around her paw. She heard the crunch of the undergrowth as her brother came next to her. He put his paw in the water, and sat down on the bank, laying his kill beside him, and sweeping his tail protectively over it. Fawn dropped her herbs and cautiously waded farther into the water, letting it slosh over her legs. Her paws sunk deep into the sand, and she had to keep moving so they wouldn't sink completely in.

Talon watched his sister from the bank as she chased fish in the water. He laughed as she fell, water splashing over her face.

"It's not funny, Talon! It's really cold! You come out here and see for yourself!" She got herself up from the water and waded over to her brother, a mischievous look glazing her amber eyes. She looked wild, her light brown fur plastered to her skin, making her look more underfed. Talon shivered, then remembered who Fawn was.

"Oh, come on Fawn. Don't...it'll take me twice as long to dry off, you know that. My fur's longer than yours." He pleaded

"Oh, no, you're not getting off that easily!" Fawn tackled her brother, sending him into a shallow part of the brook. The two play-fought like kits, splashing around in the brook and tackling eachother.

Through the shadows, he watched the cats make fools of themselves. He knew who they were...they had only seen him once or twice before.  
He laughed in annoyance as he bouded back to his mate, his red tail trailing behind him.

"They're here...just two of them. The older girl, and the younger boy... they're splashing around in the brook, making quite some noise. What mouse-brained fools." His mate nodded and padded over to him.

"I want to fight, I haven't eaten in days. You know it won't be good for the kits if I don't eat." She mumbled, gesturing to her swollen belly.

"You can't fight...do you know what that will do to the kits? They've been training for days now, the she-cat is getting better. They tom is aloof and wayward, but i bet the she would rip you to shreads. Your skills have depleated since you've been expecting. We don't want anything to go wrong when you kit. Hide here, and I'll fight them off." His mate just grumbled, looking hurt. He gave her a reassuring lick, and stalked out of the bushes.

Fawn suddenly stopped, her head raised in curiosity.

"Ugh, Talon! Have you been rolling around in fox dung again?? I told you they don't smell good, and their dung doesn't smell any better."

"It's not me! " Fawn sniffed again, and her eyes went wide with shock.

"Fox!" She yelled. The tom then came out of the bush and jumped on Talon. Faw spun around and lept on the tom, flipping him over so she had control. Her claw came up to his throat, and she gave the tom a thretning look. He loosened one of his legs and began to scratch at her underbelly, but she wouldn't have it. She brought him under the water, and then got on top of him, holding him under. The tom gasped for breath and struggled to writher free of her grasp.

Fawn was now on the bottem, but she and the tom were fighting on the bank. Fawn let out a bloodcurtling scream as the top ripped her fur clean from her sides, and raked his claws across her eye. Blood splattered across the bank, and Talon, injured by the tom fox, could only watch as his sister struggled to get up and fight. The tom was now on top of Fawn, his claws ready to rip at her throat, when a figure dashed out of the brambles and took him down, throwing him in the bank. The tom fox soon saw he was outnumbered, so he quickly took Talon's prey and scampered up the slope.

Hutch watched the tom go, then turned to Fawn. She was badly injured, and laying on her side. Blood trickled from her many wounds, and her right eye was open, unfocused, her left eye closed, and she struggled to find a breath. Hutch ran over to his sister, with a limping Talon close behind. the two brought water to her wounds, and carried her back to camp. 


End file.
